Forest stand firm against Blades

08 December 2009 22:14
Although both sides went into Tuesday night's Championship clash at Bramall Lane in good form - United having won their last three matches and Forest undefeated in 11 - there was precious little to excite the crowd in a woeful opening 45 minutes.[LNB]But United improved after the break and were only denied victory by the heroics of Forest goalkeeper Lee Camp - making his 200th league appearance.[LNB]Camp made a string of fine stops to keep the hosts at bay and ensure Billy Davies' side remain the only league club in England not to have tasted a league defeat on their travels this season.[LNB]Davies was not present to witness Camp's impressive performance, however, after being taken ill prior to the match, leaving assistant David Kelly in charge.[LNB]With Carl Ikeme sidelined by a calf problem, Sheffield United boss Kevin Blackwell handed a recall to Mark Bunn in goal.[LNB]Ched Evans also returned to the Blades line-up in place of Lee Williamson, while Andy Taylor came in for Toni Kallio, who sustained an injury prior to the game.[LNB]Forest made just one change following their stunning 5-1 demolition of Leicester at the weekend, with Luke Chambers replacing Radoslaw Majewski.[LNB]United's on-loan forward Richard Cresswell saw a snapshot fly wide inside the first minute.[LNB]At the other end, Dexter Blackstock headed wide from Chris Cohen's floated free-kick, while Paul McKenna curled a tame shot straight at Bunn from 25 yards.[LNB]With clear-cut chances at a premium, Evans tried his luck with an audacious 40-yard lob in the 22nd minute, but Camp gathered with ease.[LNB]Remarkably, Evans' ambitious effort proved to be the final attempt on target before the interval.[LNB]The dismal standard of play clearly frustrated the vocal home support and their mood was hardly improved shortly before the break when referee Andy Haines waved away appeals for a penalty after Evans appeared to have his shirt pulled in the area.[LNB]Goalmouth action remained scarce in the opening stages of the second period as both sides continued to struggle in the final third.[LNB]Blades goalkeeper Bunn was finally called into action on the hour mark to tip away a left-footed shot from Robert Earnshaw, although the officials bizarrely awarded a goal kick instead of a corner.[LNB]Seconds later, United's Jamie Ward saw a close-range header parried away by Camp before Nick Montgomery's powerful follow-up thundered into the chest of Cresswell, who was duly flagged offside.[LNB]Camp made another reaction stop to deny Stephen Quinn in the 68th minute after the midfielder had stretched to get a toe-end on James Harper's lofted through ball.[LNB]And Forest's goalkeeper had to be alert to keep out a drilled effort from Blades substitute Henri Camara five minutes later as the game finally sparked into life.[LNB]Earnshaw saw a goalbound effort blocked by Chris Morgan before a swift United counter attack ended with Camp making a fine double save with his feet to deny Camara and Quinn.[LNB]Camp once again came to Forest's rescue in the 78th minute, keeping out a weak effort from Matt Kilgallon after the centre-half had been played clear through on goal.[LNB][LNB]

Source: Team_Talk